About Surah Al-Mujadila

A woman named Khawlah bint Thaʿlabah came to the Prophet (ﷺ) to argue against her husband, Aws ibn al-Ṣāmit, over an unjust pre-Islamic vow of separation called ẓihār. Her case gave this Madinan chapter its name, Al-Mujādila (The Pleading Woman), alongside alternate titles like Qad Samiʿa (The Lord Has Heard) and Sūrat al-Ẓihār. Revealed between Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn and al-Taḥrīm, these 22 verses arrived to resolve specific legalities and expose internal dangers within the community.

The text opens by directly answering Khawlah's plea, invalidating ẓihār as a falsehood and legislating its penance. It then turns to condemn the secret meetings and false oaths of Madinan hypocrites and Jews who sought to distress the believers. Following instructions on etiquette for attending and leaving the Prophet’s (ﷺ) assemblies, the revelation enforces the strict obligation of loyalty (al-walā’), forbidding alliances with opponents of God and His Messenger, even close relatives.

Notice how the chapter expands from a private household grievance to its closing, definitive declaration: that those on God’s side are the ultimate victors.

Surah 58 of 114Madinan

Al-Mujadila

المجادلة The Pleading Woman

Verses: 22
Revelation: Madinan
Juz: 28
Pages: 542–545

Themes and purpose:

This Madinan surah primarily concerns the establishment of Islamic law by abolishing the unjust pre-Islamic practice of ẓihār (likening one's wife to one's mother). The surah then focuses on purging the community of internal dangers by exposing the secret plots, false oaths, and disloyalty of the hypocrites and Jews of Madinah.

Context of Revelation:

Era: Madinan, though some parts have been claimed as Makkan.

Context: The surah was revealed to resolve the specific legal case of the woman Khawlah bint Thaʿlabah, who came to the Prophet (ﷺ) arguing against her husband, Aws ibn al-Ṣāmit, who had pronounced ẓihār upon her.

Chronology: It has been counted as the 103rd surah in the order of revelation, revealed after Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn and before al-Taḥrīm.

Name and Ayah Count:

Name: The surah is known by several names: "Sūrat al-Mujādilah" (The Pleading/Arguing Woman) or "Sūrat al-Mujādalah" (The Plea/Argument), i.e. the same word vocalized in two ways with this nuance in meaning. It is also known as "Sūrat Qad Samiʿa" (The Lord Has Heard) for its opening phrase, and "Sūrat al-Ẓihār" (The Vow of Separation) for addressing this ruling.

Ayah Count: 21 ayahs (Madīnah/Makkah) or 22 (Shām/Baṣrah/Kūfah).

Surah Overview:

Abolition of Ẓihār: Ruling on the case of Khawlah bint Thaʿlabah, invalidating the pre-Islamic vow of ẓihār as falsehood and establishing the penance for it. [1-4]
Exposing Hypocrisy: Condemning the hypocrites for their secret meetings and alliances with the Madinan Jews, intended to cause distress to the believers. [7-10]
Condemning False Oaths: Warning the hypocrites who swore false oaths to conceal their disloyalty. [14, 16]
Prophetic Etiquette: Legislating the proper etiquette for attending and leaving the Prophet’s (ﷺ) assemblies. [11]
The Obligation of Loyalty (al-Walā’): Strictly prohibiting believers from giving alliance or friendship to those who oppose Allah and His Messenger, even if they are close relatives. [14, 22]
The Final Alliance: Concluding with the powerful assurance that those who are on God’s side are the ultimate victors. [22]

Reflections Layers

بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

58:1

God has heard the words of the woman who disputed with you [Prophet] about her husband and complained to God: God has heard what you both had to say. He is all hearing, all seeing.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:2

Even if any of you say to their wives, ‘You are to me like my mother’s back,’they are not their mothers; their only mothers are those who gave birth to them. What they say is certainly blameworthy and false, but God is pardoning and forgiving.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:3

Those of you who say such a thing to their wives, then go back on what they have said, must free a slave before the couple may touch one another again––this is what you are commanded to do, and God is fully aware of what you do––

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:4

but anyone who does not have the means should fast continuously for two months before they touch each other, and anyone unable to do this should feed sixty needy people. This is so that you may [truly] have faith in God and His Messenger. These are the bounds set by God: grievous torment awaits those who ignore them.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:5

Those who oppose God and His Messenger will be brought low, like those before them: We have revealed clear messages, and humiliating torment awaits those who ignore them,

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:6

on the Day when God will raise everyone and make them aware of what they have done. God has taken account of it all, though they may have forgotten: He witnesses everything.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:7

Do you not see [Prophet] that God knows everything in the heavens and earth? There is no secret conversation between three people where He is not the fourth, nor between five where He is not the sixth, nor between less or more than that without Him being with them, wherever they may be. On the Day of Resurrection, He will show them what they have done: God truly has full knowledge of everything.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:8

Have you not seen how those who have been forbidden to hold secret conversations go back afterwards and hold them, and conspire with one another in what is sinful, hostile, and disobedient to the Messenger? When they come to you they greet you with words God has never used to greet you, and say inwardly, ‘Why does God not punish us for what we say?’ Hell will be punishment enough for them: they will burn there- an evil destination.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem

58:9

You who believe, when you converse in secret, do not do so in a way that is sinful, hostile, and disobedient to the Messenger, but in a way that is good and mindful [of God]. Be mindful of God, to whom you will all be gathered.

M.A.S. Abdel Haleem